Combination cigarette case and lighter



Feb. 16, 1932. o. c. RITZ WOLLER I COMBINATION CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed Nov. '2, 1928 Fatented Feb. 16, 1932 OLIVER C. RITZ WOLLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS COMBINATION CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Application filed. November 2, 1335. Serial 1T0. 816,731.

My invention relates to combination ciga-- rette cases and lighters andit has for its obj ect the provision of a new and improved form and arrangement of parts comprising both a novel lighter and a novel combination of the lighter with the case in which it is carried together with a supply of cigarettes.

It is one of the objects of my invention to improve the lighter unit with respect to .the means for rotating the knurled striker wheel in one direction in contact with the sparker element, as well as with respect to other features of the construction. It is another object of my invention to improve the mount- 5 ing of the lighter unit so as to make its position in the casing readily controllable where by the spark and the flame may be produced a short distance below the open upper end of the casing for protection thereb and so that the unit may then beelevated or easier access to the flame or so as to enable the lighter unit to be removed entirely from the casing as may be desired.

It is still another object of my invention to improve devices ,of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred means by which I have accomplished my objects are illustrated in the drawings and are hereinafter specifically described. That which I believe to bemew' and desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through one form of my improved case and lighter,

showing the case opened and with the wick. lighted in the position the lighter -unit occupics for the lighting operation;

' Fig. 2 is a view of. the upper portion of the case, with the cover in section, 'showing a changed position of the parts; a

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary portion of the parts as shown in Fig. 1, but with the lighterj unit in elevated position .for more ready access e etha-t loose cigarettes may be carried. in this 95 compartmentto advantage if desired. It is to thefiamej I Fig. 4 is a central vertical sectionthrough the lighter unit, being shown on an enlarged scale Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional ,view upon a .still larger scale showing-the mounting of the lever and the sparking means upon the lighter unit; and 4 Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on line 66 of Fig. 2. p

Re erring to the several figures of the draW- ings, in which corresponding parts are indi cated by the same reference characters,10 indicates a casing member formed of sheet metal ressed into shape, having a partition 11 exten ing transversely thereacross. A cover 12, also pressed from sheet metal is hingedly mounted upon the rear wall of the member 10 at a point ashort distance below the upper end of the nfember 10, the cover member 12 being adapted to close down over and about the upper end of the member 10. The means for mounting the cover -12.hingedly in position comprises a', spring by which the cover is normal y held in its open position as shown in-Fig. 1. Latch means 13 is provided at the w front face of the member 10 adapted by engagement with a suitable shoulder formed in the cover member 12 to' hold the cover releasably in closed positionagainst the action of the spring means of the hinge; The latch 13 is preferably mounted upon a flat sprin Y 14 which is secured upon the front face 0 the casing member 10, in the constructio i shown the latch 13 being provided by turning the upper end of. the spring 14 at an angle as is clearly shown in Fig. 1. A lug 15 is mounted upon the spring 14 extending through a suita 1e opening in the wall of the casing for giving the latch 13 a suitable backward movement against the action of the spring 14 for releasing the latch 13 from the cover member.-

The compartment of the casing 10 in front of the partition-11 is preferably of such size and shape as to receive conveniently a full package of cigarettes of the ordinary type, I

such package 16 being shown in position in the casing with a-corner of the pa er torn away for providing access to the cigarettes It will be understood, of course,

preferable, however, to insert the entire pack age of ci arettes "as-shown in the drawings under or inary'conditions, in order to afior the utmost protection to the cigarettes.

. In the compartment of the casing in rear of the wall or partition 11, I have slidably mounted my improved lighter unit, such lighter unit being in the form of a casing 17 made of sheet metal. A wick 18 extends outwardly through a suitable opening in the upper end of the casing 17. About the wick within the casing there is a quantity of filler 19 of any approved type which is adapted to be saturated with gasoline, naphtha, or the like, inserted through an opening in the bottom of the casing, such opening being normally closed by the use of a screw plug 20, Through the body of the lighter unit 17 I have provided a tube 21, in the upper end of which is mounted a pyrophoric bar 22 which is pressed upwardly by a coiled spring 23 held in position at the lower end of the tube by ascrew 24. While I prefer to employ a pyrophoric' bar 22 as shown, it will e understood that any other suitable sparking element may be substituted if desired.

The sparking element 22 is designed to be pressed upwardly by the spring 23 into. engagement with the bottom face of a knurled striking wheel 25 which is fixedly mounted upon a shaft 26 'ournaled in lugs or standards 27 rising from t e body 17 of the unit. Fixed upon the shaft 26 at opposite sides of the striker wheel 25, there are a pair of gears 28 and 29, such gears being arranged with their teeth in staggered relation with respect to each other. The gears 28 and 29 are arranged to be operated through the medium 0 a spring pawl 30 which is carried by an operating lever 31 which is revolubly mounted upon the shaft 26 between the lugs or standards 27. The spring pawl 30 is bifurcated at its free end" portion so as to engage the gears 28 and 29 at opposite sides of the wheel 25, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5. The lever 31 is normally held inthe position as shown in. Fig. 1 by the action of a spring 32 having a coiled portion mounted. upon the shaft 26, and having its lower end portion in engagement with thebody 17 of the unit, and its upper end portion in engagement with the bottom face of the lever 31.

The arrangement is such that when the lever 31 is given a swinging movement in counter-clockwise direction in Fig. 1 the spring pawl 30 moves over the teeth of the gears 28 and 29 without causing rotation of the striker wheel 25. When, however, the lever is moved in clockwise direction as shown in said Fig. 1 the end of one of the pawl portions engages a tooth of one of the gears 28 or 29 and causes the striker wheel 25 to rotate in clockwise direction therewith, serving to strike one or more sparks from the bar 22 into contact" with the wick 18 serving to cause the wick to be ignited. The means for holding the lighter unit 17 m position within the casing 10 comprises a coiled spring 33 inserted between the bottom the bottom face of the unit as is best shown in Fig. 6, such hook being adapted to engage with a spring latch 35 carried by the casing member 10. A lug or button 36 carried by the latch 35 extends outwardly through a suitable opening in the side wall'of the casing 10 whereby inward'pressure can be applied to the latch 35 for releasing it from the hook 34 so as to enable the spring 33 to force the unit 17 upwardly. The size and strength of the spring 33 are designed to be such as to move the unit 17 only. a short distance upwardly so as to bring the upper end of. the .unit a short distance above the upper end of the casing member 10, into some such position as that illustrated in Fig. 3 so as to bring the flame into convenient position for use.

With the unit 17 in its lowered position as shown in Fig. 1, the flame is adapted to be snufl'ed through the medium of a cap 37 carried by the face of the lever 31 in position to engage the upper end of the wick 18 when the lever 31 is moved downwardly.

The arrangement is such that when the cover 12 is in its lowered position it serves to hold the lever 31 also in its lowered position. With the cover 12 closed for protecting the contents of the casing, whenit'is desired to make use of the lighter, the casing is grasped in one hand and the lug 15 is pressed inward- 1y for releasing the cover 12 which is immediately raised b reason of a spring hinge arrangement. raised and thrown backwardly by the spring 32, serving to rotate the striking wheel 25 through the medium of the spring pawl 30 and one or the other of the gears 28 or 29. If the initial movement of the lever 31 upwardly and backwardly fails to produce such a spark as to cause the ignition of the wick,

.the lever is to be given an additional stroke or strokes manually, the arrangement being such that this can be done readily by a finger ofthe same hand by which the case is bein held. Afterthe wickis ignited, the unit 1 can be raised for easy access to the flame, this being effected readily by a slight pressure upon the In or button 36 applied without materially c ianging the position of the casing in the hand. If the lighter is being used at a point where it is very windy, access can readily be had to the flame without elevating the unit. If on the other hand it is desired to remove the unit entirely from the casing t the same time the lever 31 is 10, this can be very readily efiected. Upon its return to the compartment in the casing 10, the unit canvery readilybe pushed downwardly into its locked position as shown in Fig. 6.

By reason of the use of the two gears 28 and 29, having their teeth in staggered relation, I am enabled to provide fairly large teeth upon such gears so as to afford the desired effective engagement of the spring pawl therewith without sacrificing materially the length of the rotary movement of the striker wheel 25.

While I prefer to employ a construction embodying substantially the principles as illustrated in the drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise arrangement as shown except so far as the claimsmay beso limited by the prior art, since it is evident that changes might well be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. In a device of the type described, the combination of a casing member, a cover pivotall'y mounted at the upper end of said casing member, a lighter unit releasably secured in said casing member, comprising means for producing a flame a short distance below the open upper end of said casing member soas to be protected thereby, and means for adjusting said lighter unit to an elevated position in said member for affording easier access to said flame. I,

2. In a device'of the type described, the combination of a casing member, a cover pivotally mounted at the upper end of said casing member, a lighter unit releasably secured in said casing member, comprising means for producing a flame a short distance below the open upper end of said casing member so as to be protected thereby, and a spring pressing upwardly on said lighter when in its releasably secured position adapted to elevate said lighter a short distance in said casing member when released therefrom.

3. In a device of the'type described, the combination of a casing member. a cover pivotally mounted on the upper end of said casing member, a lighter unit in said casing member, comprising in combination a wick,

' a sparking element adjacent thereto, a striker wheel rotatably mounted in contact with said sparking element, a plurality of gears n0nrotatably mounted with respect to said rotary striker wheel with the teeth of one gear in staggered relation to the teeth of the other gear, a lever swingingly mounted on the axis of said rotary striker wheel, spring means tending normally to give said lever a stroke away from said wick, and pawl means adapted upon a stroke of the lever toward said wick to slide over the teeth of said gears and adapted upon a stroke of the lever in the opposite direction to engage a tooth of one of said gears for rotating the striker in the direction for throwing a spark toward said wick, and releasable catch means for holding said cover in closed position and serving thereby to hold said lever in retracted position against the force of said spring.

4. In a device of the type described, the combination of a casing member, a cover pivotally mounted on the upper end of said casing member, a lighter unit in said casing member, comprising in combination a wick,

a sparking element adjacent thereto, a striker wheel rotatably mounted in contact with said sparking element, gears non-rotatably mounted with respect to said rotary striker wheel at opposite sides thereof with the teeth of one gear in staggered relation to the teeth of the other gear, a lever swingingly mounted on the axis of said rotary striker wheel, spring means tending normally to give said lever a stroke away from said wick, and a bifurcated spring carried by said lever engaging said gears adapted upon a stroke of the lever toward said wick to slide over the teeth of said gears and adapted upon a stroke of the lever in the opposite direction to engage a tooth of one of said gears for rotating the striker wheel in the direction for throwing a spark toward said wick, and releasable catch means for holding said cover in closed position and serving thereby to hold said lever in retracted positionagainst the force of said sprin c OLIVER o. RITZ WOLLER. 

